Liv is fresh out of college and home for the summer in Cornwall, England. An aspiring sculptor, she has big plans and they're not in her small town. She soon gets romantically involved with Finn, an alluring singer. Their happiness is short-lived, however, abruptly shattered by a tragic event that roots Liv to her town and forces her to give up her dreams of London. She also has to bid farewell to Finn, who is returning home to Los Angeles. They make a pact—he will visit every summer, and if they're both single, they'll be together for the season. Each summer that follows, Liv and Finn spend a couple of blissful months together, marred by their eventual separation. After seven years of this, Liv, brokenhearted and tired of putting her life on hold, meets Tom, a tourist with an obscure background. As the summer approaches, she falls in love with Tom and has to decide whether to make a life with him or Finn. VERDICT Set against the stunning backdrop of the Cornish coastline, Toon's (Only Love Can Hurt Like This) atmospheric romance, full of longing, mourning, and growing up, will appeal to fans of slow-burn novels.—Migdalia Jimenez

This heart-wrenching romance from Toon (Only Love Can Hurt Like This) jumps between seven summers in the life of Olivia "Liv" Arterton. In the present day, Liv, who feels stuck in her small hometown on the Cornish coastline, finds herself drawn to her elusive new summer tenant, Tom Thorton—then a man from her past, Finn Finnegan, returns. Six summers ago, when Liv and Finn first met, life was different. Liv, who still dreamed of an art career, was immediately taken with Finn, an aspiring musician from L.A. Their connection was magnetic but slow-burning, culminating in a steamy night at summer's end—a night that ended in personal tragedy for Liv, derailing her plans. With Finn returning to the States, they made a pact to reconnect every summer, as long as they're both still single. Now Liv is caught in a gut-wrenching love triangle, forced to choose between her past with Finn or a potential future with Tom. The emotional roller-coaster of Liv and Finn's relationship is made more intense by Toon's nonchronological storytelling. Liv coming into her strength and recovering from grief is given equal weight to the romantic story line, but the relentless pain and tragedy of her life makes this not for the faint of heart. Readers who like their romances on the angsty side will want to snap this up. (May)